“We are shocked and absolutely dismayed. We cannot believe what is happening“. These words that come from the other side of the phone are spoken Raquel Marti, director of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Spain. At the moment when he talks to Publicless than 24 hours have passed since the Israeli Parliament – Knesset – has almost unanimously approved two laws to restrict the humanitarian work of the Agency in Palestinian and Israeli territory.
Created in 1949, UNRWA was mandated by the United Nations (UN) to assist and protect Palestinian refugees who had been forcibly displaced. after the 1948 war that led to the creation of the State of Israel. What was originally supposed to last two years has been extended by 75. After the attacks committed by Hamas on October 7, Israel has accelerated the processes of colonization and ethnocide of the Palestinian population.
In this scheme, UNRWA is perceived by Zionism as a stone in the road that must be swept away. At least, that’s what it shows 76% of votes in favor of the approval of a first law, aimed at prohibiting the work of UNRWA in Israel. Also, 72% of parliamentarians who supported increasing obstacles of UNRWA workers to make their work almost impossible in the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Public talks with Martí about the measures adopted by Israel, as well as the abyss that opens before the Palestinians and the international community to become definitively effective.
What exactly is the law passed by the Knesset that prevents UNRWA from continuing to provide its services to the Palestinians?
The law prohibits the Agency from working in the sovereign State of Israel within which it includes East Jerusalem which Israel has de facto annexed. This is absolutely contrary to UN resolutions and the opinion of its member states. East Jerusalem is Palestinian territory and, therefore, we must consider it as territory occupied by Israel.
They have been trying to expel UNRWA from Jerusalem for a long timethreatening to kick us out of our headquarters and our training center in Kalandia [campamento de refugiados palestinos en Jerusalén Este]. What happens is that now it has materialized into a law.
What does the approval of the second law consist of, which, as you have commented on several occasions, ends the diplomatic immunity and privileges of UNRWA personnel?
With the second law, Israel prohibits any type of communication or interaction with UNRWA. That is, the law does not explicitly rescind UNRWA’s immunities and privileges, but its consequences are the same.
The law explains that Communications between the State of Israel and its officials with UNRWA and all its institutions are prohibitednot only within the territory controlled by Israel, but also abroad. That is to say, no UNRWA official could approach or engage in conversation with an Israeli representative, for example, in the United Nations Assembly.
“If we can’t talk to them, we can’t ask them for a visa”
If we cannot engage in conversation with them, we cannot ask them for a visa. If we cannot approach a border crossing with Gaza and talk to the army, we cannot tell them to let us collect humanitarian aid. We cannot coordinate the movement of a convoy throughout Gaza or the West Bank territory.
It is very serious…
Clear. At no point does it say that it removes our immunity. However, the law also includes, for example, that They can arrest UNRWA personnel, imprison them and even apply the anti-terrorism law to them Israeli. Which is another way of saying that they take away our UN immunity.
And how do they expect a detained UNRWA official to defend his innocence if his communication with them is restricted?
That’s a very good question, you’ll have to ask them.
How many UNRWA workers will be affected by these laws?
All the workers in Gaza, which are 13,000, and the 4,000 in the West Bank.
The massive support for these measures from such diverse parties was surprising. In the end, only the leftist and Arab-Israeli formations in the Knesset were the ones who opposed…
Those who have opposed the law are not those on the left, but the Arab-Israelis.
Yes, but Hadash [formación de la coalición Hadash-Ta’al que votó en contra de las leyes] comes from the communist party…
“Those who voted against are the Arab-Israelis”
But rather than saying that they are leftist groups, we must say that they are Arabs, because There are others who are also on the left who have supported the approval of the laws. Those who voted against are the Arab-Israelis.
Understand. Are there any Israeli political parties whose support for the passage of these laws has surprised you?
How can we be surprised if Israel has been distorting UNRWA’s mandate for years and accusing us of being Hamas collaborators? This is not new, what is happening is that since October 7 these accusations have intensified. How can they not vote to ban the work of UNRWA if they firmly believe that we are a terrorist organization? with 4,000 workers affiliated with Hamas; and that we have also participated in the attacks of October 7; And that it has not been solely and exclusively nine or 19 workers, as Israel says, but that it has been the Agency itself that has been involved? So how, after the Israeli Government has told me all this, am I going to vote against it? It’s impossible.
“They have been convinced that UNRWA is a terrorist organization”
They have been convinced that UNRWA is a terrorist organization. Despite the fact that not a single piece of evidence that Israel has against UNRWA employees has yet been made public. And despite the fact that an independent United Nations investigation has concluded that the evidence that Israel has shown cannot be verified or verified. These, furthermore, fall exclusively on nine UNRWA workers, because Regarding the other ten whom Israel had accused of participating in October 7, Israel has not provided a single piece of evidence.. They have shown evidence that they say is real but that UN investigators have not been able to verify.
When In any criminal investigation the evidence cannot be verified, you cannot take those supposedly involved to trial.. If there is no proven evidence there is no trial. But, obviously, if in my society my politicians are constantly blaming UNRWA, pointing us out as a terrorist organization, then obviously I am going to vote against the work of this organization.
Has it always been like this? When did you begin to perceive this harassment more obviously?
Well, in 2004, the Minister of Housing said that water and electricity supplies to UNRWA premises could be cut off. In 2006 we were notified that UNRWA had to vacate its Jerusalem headquarters in 30 days, because the land was going to be confiscated. And he had to pay a fine of 27 million shekels (approximately 6.7 million euros)). Furthermore, regarding the Kalandia training center, in mid-2022, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Yair Lapid] reported to UNRWA that in May of that year they had decided to provide educational services for residents in the area and had designated the vocational training center for this purpose.
On May 9, 2024, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem [Fleur Hassan-Nahoum] said on social media that “There is no place for the enemy in our holy city” referring to UNRWA. On October 10 he published that “Israel has remained for years facing the Nazi enemy in Jerusalem.” On October 16, media outlets quoted them as saying they would attempt to enter private property with helicopters. I remind you that also They have tried to burn our headquarters twice this year and that the attacks have been encouraged by this man.
The law comes into force in three months and you will have to designate or propose another organization to be in charge of managing these fields, is that correct? What would happen to the people who live in them?
I can’t answer that because UNRWA does not have the power to make decisions about its mandate. We cannot paralyze operations, nor leave, nor decide who is going to replace us. We have no authority to do so. The only one that has the authority to cancel UNRWA is the UN General Assembly. Therefore, It is the member countries of the UN that have to make the decision about what will happen to the Agency. And we will abide, obviously, by the decision of the United Nations Assembly. We cannot make any decisions.
In other words, if the United Nations Assembly decides that they should continue in the territory, you will continue providing services there…
United Nations to make the decisions it deems appropriate. It is the first time in history that a UN member country makes a unilateral decision which is the responsibility of the UN General Assembly.
This It is not just a question of UNRWA, but of putting the entire multilateral system at stake. To violate, once again, international humanitarian law, to control the resolutions of the General Assembly and the UN Security Council, to contradict the directives that the International Court of Justice has demanded from Israel to prevent the genocide in Gaza . It also violates the UN Charter, which says that no UN member country can interfere with the decisions of the United Nations. Furthermore, if this happens, the rest of the member countries have the obligation not to help that country.
So the only chance for the Knesset to repeal the laws is through pressure from the UN General Assembly?
There has been a strong response from United Nations member countries, including Israel’s allies. I am referring to the United States, which not only condemned the laws before and after their approvalbut in the letter he sent a few weeks ago to Israel, in which he conditioned the shipment of weapons to the demand to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza, he also included that it stop attacking UNRWA.
That is to say, the US is already taking steps to protect the Agency. Additionally, there has been a joint statement from more than 120 UN countries condemning these laws, another from the European Union…that is to say that the international reaction against these laws has been unanimous. There has been absolute support for UNRWA, and the belief that it is irreplaceable.
“Now it is UNRWA, tomorrow it will be another UN agency in other conflicts”
So, Let’s see if international diplomacy gets going and prevents Israel from moving forward. with these laws. It is not really about saving UNRWA, but rather peace in the region is at stake, the possibility of there being any solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Attempts are being made to undermine the right of the Palestinian population to self-determination. Now it is UNRWA. Tomorrow it will be another United Nations agency in other conflicts. The continuity of the United Nations is being put at stake. What is happening is very serious. This not only affects UNRWA, but it affects the entire world order and leaves us in a situation of absolute vulnerability. We could lose the only international forum we have where countries can agree to carry out peace actions in the world and to bring humanitarian aid to those countries that need it.
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